Dr. Gina Sorbara Cornea and Contact Lens Residency

Mission statement of the School of Optometry and Vision Science Residencies

To provide graduate optometrists with a programme of concentrated mentored clinical experience, and education designed to produce practitioners with advanced knowledge, skill, and judgement in a selected area(s) of optometric practice. This will enable them to deliver excellent clinical care, practice life-long learning and educate members of the profession.

General description of Residency

This 13-month residency in Cornea and Contact Lenses is a clinical post-doctoral position that is designed to extend and refine the optometrist’s knowledge and skill in specific areas of clinical practice. Skills will be enhanced primarily through clinical training and enriched by seminars, clinical research, and teaching.

The Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) has granted the GSCCL residency the accreditation status of “Accredited.” Accredited is a classification granted to an educational program indicating that the program generally meets the Standards for accreditation. For more information, see the ACOE’s website at www.theACOE.org or contact the ACOE at accredit@theacoe.org.

Dates of Residency:

August 1, 2027 – August 31, 2028.

Salary:

$42,000 per year, plus an additional $2000 to be used toward travel to optometric meetings. 

Supervisors:

Primary Supervisor: Dr. Chelsea Bray, OD, FAAO    

Location: 

The residency will primarily take place at the University of Waterloo, School of Optometry and Vision Science (UWOVS). A portion of the primary care component may be scheduled at the Health Sciences Optometry Clinic located in Kitchener, ON.

Hours:  

The clinical components of the residency are scheduled during the Waterloo Eye Institute (WEI) operating hours for 4.5 days per week or equivalent. Self-study is expected in the resident’s own time, although half a day per week is also given for self-study, administration tasks and didactic components. Evening and weekend clinics may be scheduled, in lieu of clinic during a weekday.  The resident will also be scheduled to be on-call after hours on a recurring rotational basis.

Eligibility

Clinical Residencies at UWOVS are available to those who have received an OD degree from an ACOE accredited program, and who are eligible to hold a full general license with the College of Optometrists of Ontario (COO).

Requirements to Begin Residency

A general certificate of registration issued by the College of Optometrists of Ontario must be in place on entry to the residency and all immunization requirements must be met (see: UWOVS immunization requirements for details).


 

Residency goals and objectives

Goal 1 To train the resident to provide advanced optometric and contact lens care for contact lens patients, including patients with keratoconus and other complex cases.

Objective 1 To train the resident to accurately and efficiently examine contact lens patients of all types/needs, implement all relevant optometric management and make the appropriate referrals when necessary.

Outcome measures

  1. The resident will experience approximately 550 encounters with patients wearing contact lenses.
  2. The resident will discuss each patient encounter with their supervisor until they display adequate competency for each specific type of examination/level of difficulty as assessed by their supervisor.
  3. There will be regular meetings each week with their supervisor to discuss cases.
  4. The resident will be provided with facilities and equipment to provide specialised contact lens care.
  5. The resident will submit ePortfolio/Reflections based on a patient or teaching situation in which they will reflect on experiences gained, knowledge and skills learnt and changes to implement for improvement.
  6. The resident will maintain an accurate log of their patient encounters.
  7. The resident may also experience patient encounters at the University of Montreal's School of Optometry when this opportunity is available.

Objective 2 To train the resident to conduct evaluations, including corneal topography, optical coherence tomography and photography interpretation, treatment and management of any corneal degeneration and/or any refractive surgery cases requiring CL management.

Outcome measures

  1. The resident will experience approximately 75  keratoconic patient encounters.
  2. The supervisor will review all therapy plans until you display adequate knowledge of corneal and corneo-scleral contact lenses, planning and implementation as assessed by hteir supervisor.
  3. After each contact lens evaluation, the resident will generate a detailed report outlining all tests given, results and interpretation for the patient/parent and referring professional.
  4. The resident will be provided with facilities and equipment to provide any type of CL treatment.
  5. The resident will submit ePortfolio/Reflections based on a patient or teaching situation in which they will reflect on experiences gained, knowledge and skills learnt and changes to implement for improvement.
  6. The resident will maintain an accurate log of their keratoconic patient encounters.

Objective 3 To increase the resident's comfort and efficiency in examining and managing specialty contact lens patients of all ages for the correction of pediatric aphakia, control of myopia (orthokeratology) and the control of progressive keratoconus in young patients (including pre- and post-management of corneal cross-linking).

Outcome measures

  1. The resident will experience approximately 75 encounters with pediatric and other specialty fit patients.
  2. The resident will discuss each patient encounter with their supervisor until the resident display adequate competency for each specific type of examination/level of difficulty.
  3. The resident will submit ePortfolio/Reflections based on a patient or teaching situation in which they will reflect on experiences gained, knowledge and skills learnt and changes to implement for improvement.
  4. The resident will maintain an accurate log of their pediatric patient encounters.

Objective 4 To train the resident to  make the appropriate referrals when necessary for the surgical treatment of refractive error and for the surgical treatment of corneal conditions.

Outcome measures

  1. The  resident will observe refractive surgery patients at a surgical centre and/or shadow a corneal specialist in the area when the opportunity is available. 

Goal 2 To enhance the resident's skills in optometric primary care for patients of all ages.

Objective 1 To train the resident to conduct thorough primary care examinations and emergency/acute care examinations with appropriate treatment and management to enhance these skills.

Outcome measures:

  1. The resident will experience a combined total of approximately 100 primary care, and acute care patient encounters during the year while rotating through the Primary Care, Acute Care and HSOC clinics, in addition to providing after-hours on call coverage.
  2. Clinical faculty will be available for consultation to advise the resident on assessment, diagnosis and management of patients.
  3. The resident will take part in bi-weekly meetings with a clinical faculty member to discuss cases, progressing to monthly meetings based on good progress, until the resident displays adequate competency.
  4. The resident will be provided with facilities and equipment to provide full primary care assessments.
  5. The resident will submit ePortfolio/Reflections based on a patient or teaching situation in which they will reflect on experiences gained, knowledge and skills learnt and changes to implement for improvement.
  6. The resident will maintain an accurate log of their primary care patient encounters.

Goal 3 To increase the resident's knowledge of cornea and contact lenses.

Objective 1 The resident will participate in a program of didactic activities and self-study.

Outcome measures:

  1. Attend three clinical optometric conferences during the year (American Academy of Optometry (AAO), Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS) and the British Contact Lens Conference (BCLA)).
  2. The resident will have access to the Witer Learning Resource Centre (library) resources.
  3. Attend seminars at the School of Optometry and Vision Science whenever possible. 
  4. Attend on-line webinars concerning the latest updates and trends in fitting specialty lenses.
  5. Participate and present in rounds sessions with other residents and faculty.
  6. The resident will attend 2 or 3 training meetings throughout their residency sponsored by the contact lens industry (e.g. GPLI Residency Symposium, AOA CLCS Residency Forum, BostonSight Fit Academy, etc.).

Goal 4 To develop the resident's ability to critically review the literature.

Objective 1 The resident will participate in a lecture/reading course provided by the supervisor and other faculty.

Outcome measures:

  1. The resident will read specified articles/chapters/on-line material and participate in discussions based on the material.
  2. The resident will write a review paper or a case report based on a specified topic suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
  3. As part of the resident's didactic curriculum, the resident will participate in seminars and workshops focused on developing skills to critically appraise clinical literature,  with an emphasis on evidence-based medicine and clinical statistics.

Goal 5 To train the resident to become an effective communicator and educator.

Objective 1 The resident will participate in speaking and writing opportunities under guidance and will receive feedback from their supervisor(s)

Outcome measures:

  1. The resident will present at least one seminar/lecture during their residency.
  2. The resident will prepare a paper of publishable quality in a form suitable for publication in an academic or clinical journal.
  3. The resident will submit a poster or paper of a case report for presentation at AAO, GSLS or BCLA.
  4. As part of the resident's didactic curriculum, the resident will participate in a series of workshops on writing skills, oral communication skills and case study development.

Objective 2 The resident will be involved in the clinical supervision of optometry interns during their rotation in the clinic.

Outcome measures:

  1. The resident will be scheduled to supervise undergraduate UW optometry students in the contact lens clinic and/or primary care clinic from the Winter term of the first year of the residency onwards.
  2. As part of the resident's didactic curriculum, the resident will participate in a series of workshops to prepare and develop their skills for supervising undergraduate UW optometry students.
  3. The resident will receive teaching evaluations from the undergraduate students in the clinic.

Objective 3 The resident will be involved in the teaching of contact lens labs during the Fall and Winter terms of residency.

Outcome measures:

  1. The resident will be scheduled to supervise UW optometry students in the contact lens laboratory for one day per week in the Fall and Winter terms of residency.

Anticipated Weekly Curriculum
Term 1 Fall (September-December) Term 2 Winter (January-April) Term 3 Spring (May-July)
Direct Patient Care (CL or PC) = 3.5 Lab Teaching = 1 Direct Patient Care (CL or PC) = 1.5 Clinic Supervision (CL or PC) = 2 Lab Teaching = 1 Direct Patient Care (CL or PC) = 1.5 Clinic Supervision (CL or PC) = 3

0.5 days = Self Study

Supervision

Contact Lenses

  1. Your GSCCL supervisor/mentor will act as your partner and teacher. You will meet with them on a weekly basis to review cases. Many cases that you will be following will be patients previously seen by the GSCCL supervisor/mentor and so you can conduct a historical review of successes and failures with them. You may direct any challenging new cases to them for their opinion on appropriate management via discussion forums or in person.

Primary care/Acute care (AC/PC)

  1. Arrangements will be made so that you know which clinician to consult regarding a patient (at the time of the appointment), should you need to do so. File review meetings for the primary care and/or acute care portions will take place at least once per month with a designated Faculty member, but may be more frequent at the start of the residency and depending on the number of days per week that you are scheduled for these activities.

After Hours On-Call

  1. You will be scheduled to be on-call throughout the year. A faculty or staff optometrist will be available for direct patient consultation or by phone, if necessary. 

Saturday Clinic

  1. You will be scheduled to provide patient care on Saturdays. A faculty or staff optometrist will be available for direct patient consultation or by phone, if necessary.   

Clinical experience

The residency curriculum is an educational program focused on patient care and clinical research. The School's Corneal and Contact Lens (GSCCL) Clinic has a varied patient population. Your duties and responsibilities will include independent patient care of average and then gradually specialty fit patients (keratoconic, Pellucid Marginal Degeneration, post-surgical, pediatric, toric GP, bifocal and therapeutic fittings). The numbers of patients booked will increase throughout the year. Supervision will be per patient initially but as your confidence and experience increases, you will discuss cases with the supervisor on an as-needed basis. Teaching and supervision of undergraduate students in clinical and laboratory programs will enhance your skills and knowledge base.

You are expected to devote an appropriate amount of time to professional self-development through the use of library and research facilities. You will produce a manuscript, such as a case report, of publishable quality or be involved in an equivalent scholarly activity, such as helping with data collection for a clinical study or survey under faculty guidance. You are expected to attend seminars in the optometry program whenever possible.

You will spend time becoming familiar with the specialty products and, accompanied by your GSCCL supervisor/mentor you will meet with contact lens manufacturers to learn about fitting strategies, product availability and return policies. 

Scholarly/didactic activities

You are expected to

  1. Participate in a directed reading journal club (Evidence-based Medicine/Journal club) with the focus of developing skills to critically appraise the clinical literature.  This will include topics on clinical statistics, evidence-based medicine and research design.
  2. Write and submit an article in a form suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed clinical or academic journal by the end of the residency.
  3. Attend seminars and lectures at the School whenever possible, including the evening Alcon lectures.
  4. Attend 2 out of three of the American Academy of Optometry, GSLS and the BCLA meetings. A budget of $2000 is allocated proportionally by the School to allow you to attend conferences.
  5. Devote an appropriate amount of time to professional self-development through the use of library and research facilities.
  6. Attend two residency training programs supported by the contact lens industry. At the CLMA training program, held in August, many verification and fitting techniques for GP lenses will be reviewed. Attendance at this training is an important step in fulfilling your residency. The Johnson&Johnson program will include training on multifocal and specialty fitting and is also held in August.
  7. Participate and present in short and grand rounds sessions with other residents and faculty.

Educator/knowledge sharing component

You are expected to

  1. Present 4 oral presentations: 2 short rounds, one Grand Rounds and one open-style oral presentation (grand rounds or continuing education lecture).
  2. Submit a poster or paper of a case report for presentation at AAO, GSLS or BCLA.
  3. Prepare a paper suitable for publication in an academic or clinical journal (see above). This may be based on the same case or topic as one of the oral presentations.
  4. As part of your didactic curriculum, participate in a series of workshops on writing skills, oral communication skills and case study development.
  5. As part of your didactic curriculum, participate in a series of workshops to prepare and develop your skills in supervising undergraduate optometry students.

Additional activities
  1. Photo documentation - you will be involved in the photo documentation of clinical findings that may arise during your clinical care. This will include the use of digital imaging technology.
  2. Specialized Techniques – you will be required to become familiar with techniques such as pachymetry, aesthesiometry, corneal topography/tomography, and other specialised research procedures.
  3. Clinical Research Projects – on occasion, you may have the opportunity to participate in clinical studies being conducted by faculty. This activity is purely on a voluntary basis.

Assessment and Evaluation
  • You will receive feedback from your supervisors on the Grand Rounds and the open-style presentation for content and delivery and the seminar will be graded by the audience (faculty, other residents and students) using a written evaluation.
  • Your case report/review/research paper will be reviewed for content and writing style by your supervisor(s).
  • You will be given feedback on your clinical performance at weekly (CL) or monthly (PC) meetings with your supervisors,
  • You will receive two interim and one final written evaluations on your overall progress and performance. Any major concerns with performance can be provided in written format at any time.
  • You will receive teaching evaluations regarding your clinical supervision from the undergraduate students in the clinic.
  • You will receive an evaluation of your ePortfolio/Reflections.